Hat-clearing machine.



No. 645,592. 1 Patented Mar. 20, i900.

L. R. HE/IM. HAT' 01.5mm; MACHINE.

(Application filed June 29, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

" IIHIH- INVENTQR WITNESSES ms NORR'S PETERS co. PHOTO-LITHQ,WASHKNGTOPL 0.1:.

Patented Mala 20,1900.

- L. B. HEIM.

HAT CLEARING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 29, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1111i;Mum

INVENTOR Lil/151M WITNESSES Price.

PATENT LEWIS R. HEIM, OF. DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

HAT-CLEARING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,592, dated March20, 1900.

Application filed June 29, 1899. Serial No. 722,275. (No model.)

To, aZZ whom it may concein:

Be it known that I, LEWIs R. HEIM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Trenching Out Stiffening Compounds from Hats; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and usef ul improvements in machinesfor trenching out the stiffening compound from hats, and has for itsobject to render this operation exceedingly simple and comparativelyclean, while at the same time the hats are prevented from sticking tothe supporting-cone and are readily removed therefrom.

In my invention I have adopted the general construction of a well-knownmachine which has heretofore been used for the purpose of pinning outthe water from the hats after the operation of sizing, and I willtherefore not enter into a detaileddescription of such con struction,but will simply call attention to the important changes and additionswhich I have made, which result in transforming the machine in a mannersuitable for my purpose and so as to produce results heretofore neveraccomplished nor ever attempted with a machine of this description, Itherefore do not wish to be understood as laying any claim whatever tothe construction or operation of the elements which operate to effectthe trenching out of the stiffening compound,

' which attention will hereinafter be called.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application,Figure l is a side elevation showing my improvement applied to theconstruction of pinning-out machine mainly shown and described inLetters Patent No. 546,453, issued September 17, 1895, to William H.Knowles; Fig. 2, a front elevation of such machine, and Fig. 3 a sectionat the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the severabfigures ofthe drawings.

1 is the cone upon which the hats are placed and which is carried at theupper end of a vertical shaft 2, journaled in the frame 3 of themachine.

4 is the conical trenching-out disk, which is supported at the end of ahorizontal shaft 5 in the usual manner and whose surface is parallelwith the surface of the cone'l, so that when a hat is placed upon thecone and the disk is in close proximity thereto the rotation of suchcone and disk will cause the liquid to be squeezed or trenched out ofthe-hat;

In the operation of a machine of this construction for pinning out thewater from the hats an arm orfingeris sometimes secured to the frame ofthe machine, so as to extend at a distance from the cone, and the hatisplaced on the cone and over this arm, so that the latter will hold thehat at that particular point away from the cone, whereby a tension onthe hat is afforded which takes up the slack and prevents the formationof any creases during the pinning-out operation, and I wish to beunderstood as clearly disclaiming any such construction, since myinvention presently to be described is clearly distinguished fromdevices of this sort. Also in pinning out water from the hats thepinningout disk and cone are heated as a matter of necessity, in orderto facilitate the expulsion of the surplus moisture, whereas in myimprovement no heat is used, since it would be fatal to the trenchingout of the stiffening compound from the hat. In my improvement the shaft2 is capable of a free movement in its bearings and is supported at thebottom upon an adjusting-screw 6, so that it will be clear that the cone1 may be adjusted nearer to or farther away from the disk 4 by themanipulation of this screw.

In adapting the cone-and-disk construction for the purposes of carryingout my invention I have discovered by experiment that it is absolutelynecessary to pare the hat away from the cone, and the provision ofdevices for accomplishing this constitutes the main and importantfeature of my invention. I

provide a pin 7, which is secured within a a socket 8, rising from theframe 3 by means ter during its revolutions.

of a set-nut 9, and from the upper end of this pin extends a short crank10, to the end'of which latter is secured a rib 11, which latter is soshaped and inclined to extend substantially parallel with the cone 1 andin close proximity thereto. To this rib 11 is secured a knife 12, whichnormally lies close against the surface of the cone, so as to scrape thelat- The hat 13 is placed over the cone and knife and as the disk andcone revolve to effect the pinning out of the stiffening compound thehat will stick closely to the cone, but will be pared therefrom by meansof this knife, this operation of paring continuing so long as the coneis revolved. It will therefore be clear that not only is the hatcontinually pared from the cone, but that the latter will be scrapedfree from the thick and sticky stiffening compound, so that the cone isalways kept clean and suitable for use in trenching out subsequent hats.The upper end of the knife may be extended so as to lie close to theextreme tip of the cone, although my experience has led me to believethat this is not necessary. Also the knife may be adjusted up and downalong the cone by simply loosening the nut 9 and elevating or loweringthe pin 7 to a new adjustment, and by swinging the crank 10 around theknife may be carried clear of the cone, or it will be evident that thepin may be removed from the socket, if desired. My paring-knife alsoremoves allsurplus stilfening from the inside of the hat as the latteris dragged over the back of the knife, and the knife may be readilycleansed at any time.

The tension-rod heretofore mentioned could never answer the purposes ofmy invention, as-I have ascertained by actual trial, sinceit isimpossible to drag or tear the stiffened hat from the cone withoutserious damage to the hat and without causing the cone to be coated withparticles of f or and shellac, which gradually become matted togetherand render the cone unfit for use.

My invention is applicable to any machine for pinning out hats whichemploys a conesupport for the hat, because my paring-knife cooperatessolely with the hat supporting cone itself.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for trenching out stiffening compounds from hats, thecombination of a rotary cone-support for the hats, means cooperatingwith said support for accomplishing the trenching-out operation, and aknife lying lengthwise against the surface of said cone and capable ofparing the hat therefrom during the rotation of said cone, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of therotary cone-support for the hat, with the knife closely conformed to thesurface of the cone substantially throughout its length and extendingbetween the hat and cone whereby as the cone revolves the hat will becontinuously pared therefrom, substantially as set forth.

. 3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of therotary cone-support for the hat, with the stationary knife whose edge isin close contact with the cone substantially throughout the length ofthe latter and which extends between the hat and the cone at apredetermined point, whereby as the cone revolves the hat will becontinually pared therefrom and the surface of the cone cleansed fromthe stiffening compound, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofthe'rotary cone-support for the hat carried by'a vertical shaft capableof lengthwise adjustment, with the knife also capable of verticaladjustment and having its edge extending in close contact with said conethroughout substantially the length of the latter, substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

LEWIS R. llEIM.

lVitnesses:

WILLIAM H. CABLE, HENRY M. ROBINSON.

